TIGHAR
Amelia Earhart Search Forum => General discussion => Topic started by: Ric Gillespie on March 11, 2013, 01:08:06 PM
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Betty Klenck Brown, now 91, is in an assisted living facility near her daughter's home in California. Over the past twelve years, her role in TIGHAR's Earhart investigation has become a high point in her life. Betty is quite frail but her mind is still sharp. TIGHAR - and history - owe a debt of gratitude to Betty for her faithful preservation of her notebook and her sincere efforts to help us interpret it. Pat Thrasher and I have not seen Betty since our initial visit to her in Illinois in 2000. This Friday we'll visit her at her daughter's home and present her with a framed certificate of appreciation that she can hang on her wall at the nursing home. This will be huge for Betty. We'll take photos and shoot video. We'd also like to give her a binder of printed messages from her fans that she can show to visitors, so if there is something you'd like to say to Betty please post it here in the next few days. I'll read the messages to her when we see her.
Thanks
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Thanks Ric,
Please tell Betty I wish her good health always and "Thanks for her huge contribution and insight to her notes on the post-lost radio transmissions. I BELIEVE!" - Dave
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Ric., 'Very thoughtful of you and the organization. I'think' in some strange way, that Betty
was 'meant' to note the things she heard! After all, most girls of her age couldn't have cared
less about a missing flier! For me........I still consider her notebook as a valid piece of the Niku
scenario. Nessie, Betty, the Montana boy, Emily Sekuli, post loss messages, etc. etc. Tell her
thanks from a senior from Mississippi and we wish her many more birthday celebrations.
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Dear Betty,
I relate fully with your listening adventures in 1937, when shortwave radio was the ultimate in telecommunications for that time. Fifteen years later, I was in elementary school and we lived on a small island east of Puerto Rico. My father was a ham radio operator, and as I lay in bed at night I could hear him communicating with others all over the world. Their signals might be very weak, but Dad could make sense of what they were saying, just as you made sense of what you heard. So I know, first hand, that quirky atmospheric conditions most certainly could deliver those words to your radio.
At that time a TV station had been established on Puerto Rico, a hundred miles away. Although much of the programming was in Spanish (and in black & white, not color!), my parents and I could enjoy a few English language programs during the week, such as I Love Lucy, Liberace, and Guy Lombardo. But it was on Saturday mornings, when there was no school, that I remember watching children’s cartoons and other programs from stations in Florida, more than 1100 miles away! Some moments the signal would be clear, and then it might fade away, but I was watching and enjoying a program originating from an unbelievably great distance away. Some people might not believe that, but you and I know what’s really possible.
Thank you for writing down what you heard that day. We are all indebted to you for your work. You have every reason to be proud of your part in helping to solve the mystery of Amelia and Fred’s disappearance. We are all proud of you.
Thank you, Betty!
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Dear Betty,
All those years you kept your notebook, knowing that what you heard (and the notes that you took) were historically valuable and a tribute to the courage of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. Thank you for your persistence and for keeping the memory of Amelia and Fred alive. Watching the CD of you as you told the story of that day when you heard those distress calls was a very emotional experience for me.
With best wishes,
Cindy
TIGHAR #3167
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Thanks, Ric - this is very generous of you and Pat. Betty is a very special part of this whole story now, and what she has shared will be forever vital to the search.
I appreciate being able to share the following, please -
Dear Betty,
Thank you for sharing your very unique experience with the Earhart disappearance!
Your story not only drew me much closer to the mystery, it also made me think of my own mother and her life as a young girl and how similar you two may have been in many ways. You see, my mother was the first to relate details of the Earhart disappearance to me when I was a boy - and as I think about that I realize how keenly aware she was of those events of her early years and how deeply they touched her too. That makes your experience all the richer in my heart and mind.
In my mind I can see so well how such a thing as you have shared could occur and not only is it a fascinating event, it truly helps keep the search alive in me. I cannot thank you enough for this - your telling of hearing Earhart calling out over the airwaves is a precious part of this quest. Your notebook and story of how it came to be will always be a vital part of the whole story for me and many others. That will be so for as long as there is still a mystery, and I am sure for long after it may be finally solved.
God bless you for sharing so generously.
Jeffrey Neville
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Thank you Ric for what you are doing to give Betty recognition after all.
Betty, I'm a retired pilot 81 years old, and 20 and 30 years ago in Alaska in our airplanes we used shortwave between our office and our airplanes...we used 2512 because the boats were on that too; that was before everybody switched to sideband...we frequently could hear boats as far away as Australia from our home in Alaska.
I once listened to a sailboat going into Darwin as clear as a bell from here in Alaska...
Thank you for sticking to your guns and providing us with part of the answer to what happened to Amelia...at least she did not go down into a cold ocean...and we know that in large part thanks to you.
I admire your persistance!
Bill de Creeft
Homer Alaska
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I applaud TIGHAR for this act of appreciation. It is an action that is superbly honorable!! Mr. Gillespie, please tell her how extraordinarily special of a person she is, and that we cannot put into words how thankful we are for her help. Tell her she is thought of and appreciated on a daily basis.
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Dear Betty
Thank you for proving that no matter how many times your story fell on death ear's, That one day "Just one day" You told it and someone listened and believed you. Hats off to Tighar :)
I hope you rest easy these days, And enjoy knowing that the whole world know's about Betty Klenck Brown and her notebook.
So again thank you for sharing your story with us.
Richie
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Hi, Betty,
I visited your St Petersburg home about two months ago. I was absolutely fascinated to be there. My soon to be 99 year young mother lives nearby in Bradenton, Florida. She is a better driver than I am. Betty, I noticed on the right side of your St Petersburg home(as viewed from the street) the radio equipment attached to the house. How I would like to talk with you, Betty. Please enjoy your very nice weather in California! Thank you. Jeff Pearce
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Hi Betty!
I just finished a research project on Fred Noonan, the man you heard along with Amelia. Your notebook gave me very valuable information that allowed me to speculate that Mr. Noonan had a traumatic brain injury. I see from your notes that you too thought the man had an injured brain. Sounds like you would have been a good doctor! All the best to you, Dr. Guthrie Ford
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Betty, what an honor to be able to communicate with the very inspiration that convinced me that Gardner Island was Amelia's last landing.
Believe me, Betty, we will figure this out to its finality. I have seen the tubes and rectifiers that transmitted those messages you heard that day. They may have doubted you. They may doubt me. Truth will out in the end, as it always does.
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Betty,
Thanks so much for sharing your precious teenage memories with us. What you captured and shared adds so much to the human side of the story of these two aviators.
LTM,
Don
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Betty,
Your very detailed radio notes of 1937 have been a tremendous aid in the search for Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. Without those notes, much less would be known today, not to mention that they have helped explain some critical aspects of the finds on faraway Nikumaroro. We can't thank you enough for coming forward and sharing your evidence with the world! You are to be commended for your contribution to TIGHAR, and the eventual and successful conclusion of the search for Earhart and Noonan. Thank you Betty and God bless you!
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Dear Betty,
Thank You for your immeasurable insight when you heard the voice on the radio to write the messages down.
At the time you must have been quite amazed by it all as we are today . Not only amazed but grateful to you.
Sincere Wishes for Good Health God Bless
Hilary Olson
Tighar # 2633
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Dear Betty -
Thank you for your considerable contribution to TIGHAR's efforts to determine the fate of Amelia and Fred. You were an extremely resourceful teenager to not only understand the importance of what you heard that day so long ago, but also to document it and keep the notebook on hand until one day it would go to an organization that would acknowledge it as another clue to help solve the mystery. I have heard your interview on public radio and was moved by your determination to become a pilot yourself to honor Amelia's legacy. God bless and good health and thank you again.
Mary Ellen Sutherland
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Dear Betty,
Though we've never met, I feel that we've been introduced by the same woman: Amelia. The difference, of course being that I've followed with deepest interest for only a short time that which you have known so very well for so very long.
Steadfastly preserving your testimony for so many years, you now know that the record of your diligent and copius observations back then . . . have now become nothing less than a cornerstone in the pursuit of the solution to the enduring mystery of the epic tragedy you witnessed. Can the truth help put two deserving spirits to rest? And quench our own thirst to understand?
Betty, what IS known is that Your spirit is most honorable and honored.
Yours is an unquenchable conviction that guides us in our pursuit of nothing less than the evidence of our own cultural history.
Your personal diligence in The Past . . . and in The Present . . . is a Beacon that will cast a knowing light on The Future.
For that we celebrate you this day with appreciation and gratitude.
With warm regards,
David Potratz
humble TIGHAR member
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March 15, 2013
Dear Betty,
I am only a guy who grew up in the ‘40s and ‘50s but I think I can relate to your situation in the late ‘30s regarding Amelia Earhart.
Like they said in my time you were too old to be Brownie and too young to be a Bunny (Playboy type).
You sat at home listening to the radio for your favorite music only to dream of the day your first date would ask you out for a dance. However, it didn’t happen in that period of July 1937. Instead you listened and recorded in your notebook a dialog with a truly heroic woman Amelia Earhart.
Her words-according to your transcript- were very much the same as a very lonely and frustrated human being knowing that if help didn’t come soon things would come to an end in a very unpleasant matter. Detailed descriptions of circumstances lead into pleas of understanding and remorsefulness.
Betty, your recording of the last words that Amelia uttered is laced with compassion, understanding, curiosity and lastly a sense of hopefulness that can not be disputed if one was not there with you on that day in July, 1937.
The fact that you held onto your note book (far into your later years) tells us all that you believed and treasured your time as a young teen. There was no apprehension in what you recorded or what future generations may value your work.
Betty, I personally believe that when TIGHAR finally gets all the puzzle pieces together your recorded Amelia narrative will fill in the many, many gaps of what happened on that faithful day in July 1937.
Thank You Honey,
Ted Campbell
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Dear Betty....Greetings from Western Kansas!!!! I just wanted to stop and say thank you for this outstanding contribution to TIGHAR and what it means to a lost page in history! The notebook you gave Ric will someday (if not already) be a significant piece of history that only you could have told. As I think about my recent visit to the Smithsonian Institution, I'm reminded about all those little gals who gathered around her exhibit to learn more about her. It tells me that even today, her legacy still exists, and its totally incredible. We may never know exactly what happened to the Electra...but we have a major piece of evidence that we can preserve for furture generations to come. Thank you for taking the initiative to write down something on paper that will definately be an impact in this expedition! Thanks a Amelia....nnn and God Bless!!!
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From what all I have read, I think Betty's contribution to the project is the most significant find of them all. The term "New York City" similar to "Norwich City" is probably the key to finding Miss Earhart.
Thank you, Betty!
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Dear Betty,
Thank you for writing down what you heard that day in 1937, for keeping your notebook over the days, weeks, months and years, and for having the courage to reach out Ric at TIGHAR. It is easy to see your pages as a centerpiece of the "Finding Amelia" exhibit we are bound to see soon!
And on a different note (please excuse pun), I LOVE your taste in music. I'm listening to Billie Holiday's "Carelessly" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtlkQKsJKvU) as I write this note. It doesn't get better than this!
Sincerely, John
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A short video of our visit with Betty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcTGz4O_Yq4&feature=youtu.be) last Friday is now up on the YouTube TIGHAR channel.
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That is awesome Ric. Thanks for posting this.
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Awesome!
Betty, you are such a wonderful person to have done all you did - you couldn't have done any more. We all are very grateful.
--Lauren
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Nice article about our visit in the local paper (http://www.pattersonirrigator.com/view/full_story/22026632/article-Woman-honored-for-contribution-to-Earhart-research?instance=lead_story_left_column).
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Thanks very much, Ric, for letting all of us see your visit with Betty. I think a very well done chat with her. How I and I know alot of others would like to listen to her talk.
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We have all heard the expresssion "there is a time for everything". Well, I believe the time is now for this. Concerning the challenges TIGHAR is now dealing with, I believe it is NOW time for TIGHAR and all of us to hear from the lady herself-Betty. I know this will probably be met with explanations about why this cannot be possible. Well, I say that this is really just a roadblock in our way. It is NOW time to hear from Mrs Klenck! TIGHAR needs this and we all need this. TIGHAR is in need of help. Listening to Betty is possibly one of the best avenues to assist TIGHAR. I, myself, would be willing to go anywhere in the country to sit and listen to what she has to say. I think there are many others that would like to do the same. I don't believe it is necessary for me to suggest in what ways our hearing from Betty, possibly accompanied by her daughter, could be extremely beneficial to TIGHAR.
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Concerning the challenges TIGHAR is now dealing with, I believe it is NOW time for TIGHAR and all of us to hear from the lady herself-Betty.
You can sit and listen to Betty to your heart's content by availing yourself of the DVD of our extensive and detailed interview with Betty (http://tighar.org/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=36&product_id=92) in November 2000. She was 78 years old at that time and much stronger than she is now at 91. Also, in 2000 she was not steeped in TIGHAR's research as she is now and her recollections much less likely to be influenced by our work. She has told us what she remembers and she has given us her notebook.
Betty's health is now fragile but she is content. She wants to live out her days in peace and has no desire to be badgered with more questions. Betty is a dear friend and I will respect her wishes.
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We have all heard the expresssion "there is a time for everything". Well, I believe the time is now for this. Concerning the challenges TIGHAR is now dealing with, I believe it is NOW time for TIGHAR and all of us to hear from the lady herself-Betty. I know this will probably be met with explanations about why this cannot be possible. Well, I say that this is really just a roadblock in our way. It is NOW time to hear from Mrs Klenck! TIGHAR needs this and we all need this. TIGHAR is in need of help. Listening to Betty is possibly one of the best avenues to assist TIGHAR. I, myself, would be willing to go anywhere in the country to sit and listen to what she has to say. I think there are many others that would like to do the same. I don't believe it is necessary for me to suggest in what ways our hearing from Betty, possibly accompanied by her daughter, could be extremely beneficial to TIGHAR.
There was a story on American Public Media in 2007 (http://castroller.com/podcasts/ApmTheStory/1284528), but the podcast seems to be unavailable nowadays. The blurb reads, "On the day the movie Amelia opens in theaters, Dick Gordon has the real-life story of a woman who believes she heard Amelia Earhart's last words. An historic airplane recovery group believes she might be right." I don't know whether Betty was interviewed then or not.
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There was a story on American Public Media in 2007 (http://castroller.com/podcasts/ApmTheStory/1284528), but the podcast seems to be unavailable nowadays. The blurb reads, "On the day the movie Amelia opens in theaters, Dick Gordon has the real-life story of a woman who believes she heard Amelia Earhart's last words. An historic airplane recovery group believes she might be right." I don't know whether Betty was interviewed then or not.
The piece aired on August 31, 2007 and was called Listening for Amelia. It ran for about 51 minutes and included interviews with Betty and with me. I have it as an mp3 file but it's too big (24 MB) to put here as an attachment or to email.
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Ric If there are no copyright issues you can upload the file to the TIGHAR youtube channel, you may have to run it through a video program but there doesn't have to be any images
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1696878?hl=en
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Ric If there are no copyright issues you can upload the file to the TIGHAR youtube channel, you may have to run it through a video program but there doesn't have to be any images
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1696878?hl=en
Thanks Matt. Good idea. I'll need to check with American Public Media about the copyright question. We don't want to get sued.
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Isn't it realistic to believe that Betty would have a continued interest in convincing us of what she heard on her radio?
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Isn't it realistic to believe that Betty would have a continued interest in convincing us of what she heard on her radio?
No. Betty really isn't interested in whether you believe her or not. If we find the final conclusive proof while she's still with us, so much the better, but she's not counting on that. She knows what she heard and she knows what happened. She knows that I believe her and that all the people who sent such wonderful messages to her believe her. She has a whole chapter in my book. She has been featured in television documentaries and public radio features. We've made her part of the Earhart story. She feels vindicated.
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I believe it would without a doubt be very valuable to TIGHAR in more ways than one and even in ways that some may not be aware of if we were to hear from Betty. History and time are at stake.
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Jeffrey,
If you search the forum, Tighar Tracks, and other Tighar resources you'll see that Betty has provided a lot of input, her notebook has been discussed in depth, and Ric has visited her recently to provide his thanks as well as thanks from many of the members here. I don't think she can provide any further input.
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I believe it would without a doubt be very valuable to TIGHAR in more ways than one and even in ways that some may not be aware of if we were to hear from Betty. History and time are at stake.
One of the most interesting things about Earhart research is that people develop "beliefs" from which no amount fact can dissuade them. You obviously feel strongly that hearing yet again directly from Betty would somehow be very valuable to TIGHAR. Even if I agreed with you (which I do not), I would not subject her to public badgering when she has asked me to protect her privacy.
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Ric, The only belief I want to foster is one that is based on the truth or as much of the truth as possible. Please do not basically define me in some kind of category.
If I heard what may have been Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan I believe I would have the desire to tell as many people as possible about it. Plain and simple. I don't believe I would be too concerned about badgering because I heard what I heard.
I would hope that you feel the same. And, I do believe TIGHAR and all of us will be that much closer to finding Amelia Earhart.
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If I heard what may have been Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan I believe I would have the desire to tell as many people as possible about it. Plain and simple. I don't believe I would be too concerned about badgering because I heard what I heard.
If you hear Amelia and Fred we'll be eager to learn whatever you have to tell us. Meanwhile, we'll respect Betty's wishes.
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I believe it would without a doubt be very valuable to TIGHAR in more ways than one and even in ways that some may not be aware of if we were to hear from Betty. History and time are at stake.
One of the most interesting things about Earhart research is that people develop "beliefs" from which no amount fact can dissuade them. You obviously feel strongly that hearing yet again directly from Betty would somehow be very valuable to TIGHAR. Even if I agreed with you (which I do not), I would not subject her to public badgering when she has asked me to protect her privacy.
Ric, Thank you for being on honorable man. There are far too few of them left these days.
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Dear Betty,
I first heard about you when I read the book Amelia Earhart's Shoes. I was facinated by the role you played, mostly because I loved doing the same thing you did and that was hop around the dial especially on the Short Wave Bands. So when I got older I became a Ham Operator so i could understand more about the radio. What you heard is called a "Band Opening" this happens a lot on short wave during the peak of the solar cycles. I'm not sure they new exactly what band openings were in 1937 and I wonder if that's why so many authorities of the day thought that the radio signals were a hoax. I am still researching this corner of the mystery. About the Wyoming boy that heard signals around the same time you did. Some say that the articles about him contradict themselves, I did some research on my own and I did confirm the boy's name was Dana not Charles as some argue. He was buried in L.A. California in 1986. So as you can see how important your role is in this. I have been fascinated by this mystery since I was maybe 8 years old, that would have been around 1982. My Grandpa was a pilot and sold airplanes, he flew over the Burmuda Triangle a few times and would scare me about it with the Amelia Earhart story. So possibly you helped put an end to the mystery. By the way I was working a band opening the other day on 18megacycles to Japan from here in Colorado.
God Bless Your Sole,
Matt Barth